Posted on 01/12/2024 10:50:11 PM PST by Red Badger
You don't have to be an expert volcanologist to figure out that drilling straight into the side of a volcano is a rather ambitious idea.
But that's exactly what a team of researchers are planning to do in the next couple of years in Iceland in what would be a scientific first.
The aim is to rapidly advance our understanding of how magma behaves underground, and what prompts volcanoes to erupt when they do. At the same time, the team is hopeful of being able to tap into a near-unlimited source of clean energy.
This controlled breaching of a magma chamber is being undertaken by the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) organization – named after the Krafla volcanic caldera in the northeast of Iceland.
How the site of the drilling operation might look. (KMT)
"It is to be science infrastructure analogous to a telescope array, polar station, particle accelerator, or seabed observatory where a previously little-known environment can be explored and understood," explained members of the KMT team in a 2018 paper.
The work is building on previous efforts at the start of the century to drill close to one of the Krafla magma chambers. On that occasion, the intent was only to get near to the chamber to explore geothermal energy options.
However, the chamber wasn't as deep down as expected: the project accidentally broke through into the magma vault, which eventually prevented any further attempts to drill, as the overwhelming heat (450°C or 842°F) destroyed the well.
It did, however, confirm drilling into a magma chamber doesn't cause the volcano to erupt.
Now, scientists are trying again. Magma chambers are notoriously hard to locate, so the Krafla site offers an unusual opportunity to get at one – and to then be able to conduct experiments that have never previously been possible.
"Being able to go into the crust and sample magma would give us huge knowledge," KMT's Hjalti Páll Ingólfsson told Graham Lawton at New Scientist. "We hope to be able to have a direct measurement at least of temperature, which has never been done before."
A lot of challenges lie ahead of course, including the development of drills and sensors capable of surviving the intense heat, pressure, and acidity of these chambers. If all goes to plan, drilling will get underway in 2026.
Over the years, more and more research is planned. The nature of the Krafla site means its magma chamber could give us new information about how continental crust is formed, and help experts in predicting when eruptions will happen at similar volcanoes.
Then there's the clean energy angle. Drilling on a second well is expected to start in 2028, with plans to tap into ultra-hot water stored at ultra-high pressures to drive turbines, all powered by what nature has already given us.
"There are endless opportunities," Ingólfsson told Lawton. "The only thing we need to do is to learn how to tame this monster."
“... is going to change the climate.”
No it will not.
Do you have any idea of the scale of energy involved in solar output and the earth’s orbital incline to the sun?
It is billions of times greater than human energy output.
nuclear fusion. Whether it’s through lasers or magnetism, a solution is near.
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I heard that back in the 1960s ...
The Icelanders already have a lot of geothermal energy and thanks to their volcanically active island, could likely harness a lot more. I know that for a while they were attracting energy intensive industries there like metal smelting and bitcoin mining because their energy is relatively cheap and abundant.
While I'm hopeful about the prospects of nuclear fusion, let's also be realistic. A breakthrough has been just 10 years away for the last 50 years.......
For years I have wondered why we don’t consider geothermal a viable source.
Luckily, it is on Island.
There are not too many people there!
They have a lot of volcanoes there. Some are quite tame. Even now they get most energy from volcanism.
But - volcanoes are not everywhere and some volcanoes are really vicious!
Me too...................
A breakthrough has been just 10 years away for the last 50 years.......
____________________
Kind of like the solar. It has been around for a long while, and they will soon made it efficient enough!
Quaise Energy https://www.quaise.energy/company is working on a microwave drilling technique to access temperatures adequate to generate superheated steam. This could be done anywhere. The trick is drilling a 20 mile deep hole.
there’s always a “trick’ ...and usually it requires at least an 8 figure grant somewhere to somebodies...
.
Doesn’t really inspire confidence in them.
Iceland is skilled in science.
They eradicated Downs Syndrome. The cure, prenatal testing and abortion…ta-da, “cured”.
I went to a hydroelectric plant outside of Reykjavik.
The seasonal melting of glaciers provides a ton of energy as well.
Crystal blue water for miles.
In Summer, it’s one of the most beautiful physical places there are.
I remember a similar attempt in New Mexico forty five years ago. they figured what they would get from it, bought the equipment, generator, and all the works.
Then they drilled. they did not get enough heat to generate steam.
All the equipment was for sale in the next year’s POWER and POWER ENGINEERING magazines.
That’s the problem with geothermal energy. It works, but only in certain places...............
The Japanese island of Hokaido sits on magma near the surface. There are numerous installations drilled down to tap the super hot water that is brought to the surface to generate steam to power generators.
Such geo thermal efforts are numerous all over the world
Rocket Surgery and Volcanology share a lot of similarities.............
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